New York Game Awards 2023

The New York Game Awards 2023 were just hosted. The Ceremony awarded Elden Ring with 2 awards; the Game of the Year Award & the Best World Award. With the addition of these 2 awards, Elden Ring has a total of 331 awards, beating The Last of Us Part II’s 322 awards. The Ceremony also honored the CEO of Microsoft Gaming & Head of Xbox Phil Spencer with the ‘Andrew Yoon Legend Award’.

The Awards were hosted on the night of January 17 at the SVA Theatre. This was the first in-person show for the New York Game Awards since 2020. The 12^th annual awards were hosted by the New York Video Game Critics Circle, which honored the best games, actors, esports athletes, and journalists of 2022.

Of all the games, only Elden Ring was the one to have won in 2 different categories. This means that a lot of games were given the spotlight that they deserve. The most prestigious of the game titles that were competing are; Vampire Survivors, God of War Ragnarok, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Immortality, and more.

As it was previously mentioned that the ceremony honored the CEO of Microsoft Gaming & Head of Xbox Phil Spencer with the ‘Andrew Yoon Legend Award’. It was presented to Phil Spencer along with “presented by the New York Videogame Critics Circle to recognize people and organizations that have exhibited a significant, sustained body of work that shows exceptional artistic achievement and innovation.”

Furthermore, Reggie Fils-Aimé former industry and COO and board member of, the New York Video Game Critics Circle, said “Phil and I have been a part of this industry together for many years and I’ve always admired his ability to find new, creative ways to serve gamers, Phil isn’t just an executive in games, he is a gamer himself and because of that he knows exactly what fans want when it comes to the Xbox brand. I am thrilled to have him join the prestigious ranks of Andrew Yoon Legend Award winners and look forward to celebrating his illustrious career at the New York Game Awards this January.”

Vanity Fair's Justin Heckert won the Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism in part for his work on "Jason Brassard Spent HIs Lifetime Collecting the Rarest Video Game. Until the Heist." This is the same award IGN's Rebekah Valentine won in 2022 for "her work investigating workplace misconduct at video game studios, and for elevating marginalized voices in her coverage of a game about the war in Iraq."

The full list of winners from the New York Game Awards 2023 is as follows;

Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year

    A Plague Tale: Requiem

    Cult of the Lamb

    Elden Ring - WINNER

    God of War Ragnarök

    Immortality

    Pentiment

    Vampire Survivors

    Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Off-Broadway Award for Best Indie Game

    Immortality

    Neon White

    Return to Monkey Island

    Trombone Champ

    Vampire Survivors - WINNER

    Wordle

    Wylde Flowers 

Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game

    As Dusk Falls

    Elden Ring

    God of War Ragnarök - WINNER

    Immortality

    Norco

    Return to Monkey Island

    Roadwarden

Statue of Liberty Award for Best World

    Elden Ring - WINNER

    God of War Ragnarök

    Horizon Forbidden West

    Pentiment

    Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game

    Elden Ring

    God of War Ragnarök

    Horizon Forbidden West

    Metal: Hellsinger - WINNER

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

    Trombone Champ

Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game

    Alex Jarrett as Zoe Walker in As Dusk Falls

    Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West

    Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War Ragnarök

    Grace Zabriskie as Eliza Vorez in The Quarry

    Justice Smith as Ryan Erzahler in The Quarry

    Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel in Immortality - WINNER

Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game

    BONELAB

    Lost Recipes

    Moss: Book II - WINNER

    RUINSMAGUS

    The Last Clockwinder

Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game

    Harmony’s Odyssey

    Kirby and the Forgotten Land - WINNER

    Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

    Moss: Book II

    Pokémon Legends: Arceus

    Splatoon 3

    Tunic

A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game

    Desta: The Memories Between

    Marvel Snap - WINNER

    Poinpy

    Railbound

    Wylde Flowers

Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake

    Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

    Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion

    Life is Strange Remastered Collection

    Live A Live

    The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe - WINNER

Joltin’ Joe Award for Best Esports Player of the Year

    Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique (FATE Esports/Red Bull Esports) – Tekken 7

    Bryan “pANcada” Luna (Sentinels, formerly with LOUD) – Valorant

    Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu (DWG KIA) – League of Legends

    Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto (VGBootCamp/Red Bull Esports) – Super Smash Bros. Melee - WINNER

    Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere) – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

    Yoo “smurf” Myeong-hwan (Boston Uprising) – Overwatch

Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem

    A Memoir Blue

    Norco

    Patrick’s Parabox

    Perfect Tides

    SIGNALIS - WINNER

    Strange Horticulture

    The Case of the Golden Idol

    Wayward Strand

NYC GWB Award for Best DLC

    Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök

    Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Tombs of the Fallen Pt. 2

    Bugsnax: The Isle of BIGsnax

    Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - WINNER

    Microsoft Flight Simulator: Top Gun Maverick DLC

    Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism

    Justin Heckert, Vanity Fair

Elizabeth Jennings Graham Award for Best Educator 

    Ryan O'Callaghan

Andrew Yoon Legend Award Recipient

    Phil Spencer